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NASB | John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. |
Subject: 'Seed' salvation? |
Bible Note: Dear Robert, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Yokohama is a bit cold, too! But not like Canada! :-) Friend, I agree with all you wrote here. I do believe that Jesus is the door to heaven. However, I cannot *absolutely* state that no one else will make it to heaven, because the Bible DOES make room for 'loopholes' in His divine plan. No doubt these 'exceptions' are by His grace, and according to His sovereignty. The *everlasting covenant* to Abraham is one example. I, personally, do not feel I have sufficient Scriptural evidence to negate this holy covenant to the 'father of our faith.' So, I give that to God. Another is children, especially of unsaved parents. I do not believe that the Bible clearly explains their status with God. This is a very emotional topic! Nobody wants to say these 'innocents' belong in Hell. (I put 'innocents' in quotes because I have witnessed that at about 6 months old the 'innocence' seems to be gone, replaced by good old human will :-)) Yet, the Bible does not say that all are saved until a certain age, then they lose their salvation. Another is the sad case of those that do not have the mental capacity to manifest any kind of relationship with the Lord Jesus. True, we do not know what is going on in the mind of a mentally disabled person, but some really do seem incapable of a salvation realtionship based on repentance from sin. Yet another is in 1 Corinthians 7 regarding the sancification of an unbelieving spouse. This portion of Scripture seems to put a covering upon the children of believers as well. Does this mean that they are 'automatically' saved? I doubt it, but I don't know in an absolute sense. Some would even go a step further and tie it in with Acts 11:14 and say that one person's belief covers all family up to first cousins! No kidding! I think this is foolish, but some are so sure. :-) What I am saying here is that many spend an inordinate amount of time and effort to 'prove' either the 'narrowness' of salvation or the 'breadth' of it. I don't. I preach to Jews of salvation in Christ Jesus. I preach to the infirm the Gospel, and pray that the Lord would quicken their understanding. I preach to children the need for knowing Jesus, and starting their own walk with Him. And I preach to unsaved relatives that THEY need to know the Lord Jesus! Even if there are 'loopholes,' I am not off the hook to preach the Gospel of hope to the lost, AND to the saved. Thank you for your kind words! In Christ Jesus, charis |